Poor old MI5. That other branch of British intelligence, featuring a certain 00 Agent, gets all the cinematic glory. Whereas Daniel Craig is picking up the Walther PPK once more in Spectre, the last man to depict a non-MI6 British spy was Rowan Atkinson, in Johnny English: Reborn.
In fact, there’s been a distinct lack of MI5 action on TV too, ever since the final series of the BBC’s Bafta-winning Spooks in 2011.
So it comes as a welcome relief that Harry Pearce and his band of merry MI5 officers are making a comeback – but this time on the big screen.
Spooks: The Greater Good follows on from the show’s finale and stars series stalwart Peter Firth as the aforementioned counter-terror commander Harry, forced to resign and disappear after being blamed for the escape of a terrorist.
Which brings in Jon Snow from Game Of Thrones. Or more accurately, Kit Harington, pictured here, playing former agent Will Holloway, drafted in to discover the truth. Fans of the show are in for a treat – alongside returning cast members Tim McInnerny, Lara Pulver and Hugh Simon, there’s a familiar face behind the camera: Bharat Nalluri, the show’s original director. If it’s anything like the show, expect a pulsating, grounded insight into the murky world of secret intelligence.
And perhaps a tad more tension than Johnny English.
Spooks: The Greater Good is at cinemas nationwide from 8 May
(Image: Fox)